Exercises for
The Canterville Ghost – Dramatized Version
Oscar Wilde
______
1. A ghost crossword! You will find the missing words for this crossword if you can complete the sentences below or find the word which they define. In some cases we have helped you by giving you the first letter of each word.
1 / 2 / 34
5 / 7 / 8
8
9 / 10
11 / 12 / 13
14
15
Across
1. A typically American word for “ghosts” is “s_____”.
4. Cecil is the Duke _____ Cheshire.
5. Synonym for “very bad”, “wicked” = e____.
9. Short form of “Court” in street or place names.
10. You either believe in ghosts _____ you don’t.
11. We say: “A red blood-stain” but “___ orange blood-stain”.
12. If you haven’t got a pumpkin you can use a _____ for a Halloween mask.
15. “The ghost didn’t talk to you, it talked to _____!”
16. Many people don’t believe in ghosts. They think a belief in ghosts is n____.
Down
1. The Otises found the _____ of Sir Simon in a secret room.
2. Mr Otis gave the ghost a bottle of best American chain _____.
3. Synonym for “type”, “variety”.
7. Do you call a ghost “he”, “she” or “_____”?
8. You put this inside a pumpkin to make light come out of the eyes and mouth.
9. Sir Simon murdered his wife. Murder is a serious c____.
10. There was a blood-stain _____ the dining-room floor.
13. If I saw a ghost, I would _____ away as fast as I could!
14. You can use this to write a letter.
2. How much of the story do you remember?
Without looking at the story again, say whether the following statements are right or wrong? Give yourself extra points if you can give the correct information.
Right Wrong
1. The name of the house is Canterville Hall. o o
2. The house is over 30 kilometres away from London. o o
3. Mr and Mrs Otis have four children. o o
4. The house is haunted by a ghost called Sir Robin. o o
5. Stars and Stripes are younger than Virginia. o o
6. Virginia plays a lot of tricks on the ghost. o o
7. Washington often gets letters from young ladies. o o
8. Most of the servants don’t like the American family. o o
9. Washington is friendly with the servants. o o
10. They say that the ghost appears before the death of
a member of the family. o o
3. Join the two halves of the sentences with one word from the box.
because since for how who
while although unless if during
whenever what
1. The ghost has haunted the house ______over 300 years.
2. He haunts the house ______he murdered his wife.
3. The ghost walks through the house ______the night, ______most of the people are asleep.
4. There has been a mysterious bloodstain on the floor ______the murder.
5. ______anybody tries to remove the stain, it always comes back.
6. Washington tries to remove the stain ______Mrs Umney warns him that he won’t be able to do it.
7. Hiram Otis tells Mrs Umney she won’t lose her job ______she faints again.
8. The ghost will only find peace ______a young girl helps him.
9. Virginia is the only person ______really understands Sir Simon.
10. She asks him ______she must do to help him to find peace.
11. Virginia never tells anybody ______she helped the ghost.
4. Put in the missing words.
1. ____ night, the ghost walked ____ and ____ the corridors, groaning loudly.
2. Mr Otis was ____ bed ____ his wife. He was looking ____ a book ____ ghosts.
3. When he heard the noise, Mr Otis came ______his bedroom and gave the ghost a small bottle of oil.
4. He put the bottle ____ a small table ____ the corridor and went back ____ bed.
5. Every night the twins tied a piece ____ string ____ the corridor so that the ghost would fall ____ it.
6. Virginia came ____ a room where the ghost was sitting ____ a table. He was talking ____ himself.
7. She listened ____ him for a while before speaking ____ him.
8. The ghost took Virginia ____ a secret doorway ____ the wall hidden ____ a curtain.
9. ____ she had come ____ from the ghost’s room, Virginia took the family to see it. There was a skeleton ____ the floor ____ a small window. There were chains ____ the skeleton’s arms and legs.
10. They buried the skeleton ____ the back ____ the churchyard ____ front ____ a beautiful old tree.
5. American English
The following sentences are considered correct in everyday American English, but an Englishman would want to correct them. What would a British English speaker say?
1. “I’m awful glad to meet you.”
2. “Him and me had better talk about this alone.”
3. “We’re going to a cinema downtown.”
4. “She hurt herself real bad.”
5. “The ghost snuck up behind me and gave me a real shock!”
6. “I sure was glad to get outa that room!”
6. The English aristocracy
How much do you now about the English aristocracy? The Queen is at the top, of course, followed by her children (princes and princesses), but who comes next?
Here are the most important titles of members of the aristocracy. Put them in order of importance and make sure you know which are the male and which are the female forms of the title.
BARON DUKE COUNTESS MARCHIONESS
EARL BARONESS DUCHESS MARQUIS
Male Female
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
4. ______